December 09, 2011

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharial Nehru

Last week we arrived in Bali for a final few days in the place where it all began. Tomorrow we head home after over a year on the road. Back to San Francisco, real life, and the next step – whatever that may be.

No question, it feels incredibly surreal for the trip to be coming to a close. Our feelings on coming home are certainly mixed. We've loved everything about this year -- the travel, the togetherness, the freedom, the excitement inherent in spending every single day exploring an amazing new place.

It's been a wild ride, and we leave feeling so certain that despite all the initial anxieties, choosing to spend this year abroad was the right decision for us.

While we're not sure where we're going or what exactly comes next, the specialness of this year will undoubtedly live on. This experience leaves us determined to keep taking risks and putting real priority on the things in life that matter most.

It may be quite a few years before we have the opportunity to become full-time world travelers again, but our adventure is far from over.

December 07, 2011

For much of our time in Sydney, the city didn't look much how we imagined it. Rather than brilliant sunlight glinting over the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, we were faced with overcast skies, Seattle-like downpours, and heavy winds.

Therefore, rather than gorgeous views of the city itself, we'll leave you with a couple of shots of Bondi Beach's fantastic Scupture by the Sea exhibit, which we were lucky enough to catch in its very last day. My cousin, Davina, gave us an amazing tour of the coastal walk, which had been transformed into a 2km long sculpture exhibition with over 100 different pieces.

While the skies remained overcast much of the day, it never rained and we were able to spend several hours wandering between the sculptures all while taking in the swimsuit-filled spectacle that is Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach and its wonderfully quirky spread of inhabitants.

December 05, 2011

Until Jesse and I watched "Exit Through the Gift Shop" several weeks ago I had a vague idea who Banksy was, but knew very little about street art culture or how everyone could become so enamoured with a few colorful stencils thrown up on a seemingly random brick wall.

It seemed cool and all. Irreverent. Political. Controversial. Often funny. But not all that much more than that.

The documentary, however, threw everything into a completely different light. Suddenly we became a little bit street art obsessed -- and arriving in Melbourne, a street art capital of the world, set out in search of a good hidden alley to explore.

Our best decision of the day was definitely to sign up for a walking tour with Dave. In addition to taking us around all the big sites and providing a great history lesson, he also steered us back behind Melbourne's major city streets and through some of the city's most famous alleyways.

I can't think of a better way to describe these streets than as massive explosions of color, and really the last thing you'd expect to see backed up against a fancy department store, bank, or towering office building.

Stencils, posters, paste-ups, stickers, plain old graffiti. It's all here, from ground level up even two or three stories. We spotted a pair of Banksy rats and a few Space Invader pieces, as well as a whole host of works by prominent Australian artists.

Street art has become a large part of the international identity of Melbourne, and while it certainly seems to be a good thing for tourism it does come with a fair amount of controversy. When street art is good, it's mesmerizing. And when it's bad, it can be ugly and even destructive to a city's reputation.

The line between street art and vandalism is undoubtedly a thin one and constantly in a state of flux. It's simple enough to say that many people genuinely like street art and don't support vandalism, but who makes the rules that say one is encouraged while the other remains a punishable offense.

As a city at the forefront of this international movement, Melbourne is learning how to embrace a new kind of art culture and even capitalize on it. For now, these alleyways are hidden gems in an already beautiful, character-filled city. Not always so easy to find, but certainly worth the hunt.

December 04, 2011

The Great Ocean Road is often described as one of the world's most scenic drives, a rambling 234 kilometer stretch that winds its way from just outside Melbourne through to Warrnambool.

We decided to tackle almost all of it, spending two days slowly twisting and turning ourselves along the coast, stopping frequently to check out some pretty incredible surf breaks, munch down sandwiches in tiny seaside towns, and wander amongst the Twelve Apostles, amazing limestone stack formations jutting from the water only a short distance out to sea.

Our first night on the road we stayed in the sweetest cottage in Lorne. Built in the 1800s and nestled in the woods just outside town, it had a great little fireplace, a wonderful old-style kitchen, creaky wood floors and a whole lot of character. We rather fell in love with it, and left wishing there was only some way we could pick it up, take it with us, and plunk it down wherever it is we next decide to call home.

December 02, 2011

One of my English grandmother's cousins lives just outside of Adelaide on a beautiful sprawling property complete with a few sheep and only ten minutes from the famously vine-filled Barossa Valley.

We spent a blissful weekend with him and his wife, wine tasting, walking and exploring our way around the area, the highlight of which was a “traditional” Saturday night Australian kangaroo BBQ. Victor and Barbara served us all up quite the feast, and certainly taught us a thing or two about how best to consume and prepare Australia’s favorite marsupial.

Lots of marinade, only a couple minutes each side. It was completely delicious.